UK Finance Minister Rachel Reeves Joins Starmer on Upcoming China Trip

UK Government's Strategic Visit to China

By Kate Holton, Andrew MacAskill and Elizabeth Piper

LONDON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - British finance minister Rachel Reeves will accompany Prime Minister Keir Starmer on his trip to China next week, underscoring UK efforts to strengthen ties with the world's second-largest economy at a time of strained transatlantic relations. 

Among the goods Britain hopes to sell to China are financial services products such as pensions, insurance and wealth management services, luxury cars and clothing, and whisky.      While China has been prevented from investing in certain parts of the British economy, such as nuclear plants and core mobile networks, it has invested in renewable energy systems, infrastructure and real estate.

Objectives of the Visit

Reeves will join Starmer and business leaders on the trip next week, the first by a British prime minister to China since 2018, three sources familiar with the visit told Reuters.

Business Delegation Details

Along with business secretary Peter Kyle, who will also be on the trip, Reeves will have separate itineraries from the prime minister, one of the sources said. Their presence on the visit has not previously been reported.  

The Treasury and the Department for Business and Trade declined to comment.

CHINA VISIT COMES AT A TIME OF TENSION WITH U.S.

Starmer's trip comes after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Beijing last week and hailed improving ties with China as well as the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Political Context and Implications

The decision to send the two most senior figures in the government, and the business secretary, shows the importance the British government is placing on the visit, which takes place amid tensions between Britain and its traditional closest ally, the United States, over President Donald Trump's unpredictable approach to trade and defence. 

Britain wants closer economic and trade ties with China to help boost its economy after Starmer pledged to improve living standards through investment in public services and the economy. But the strategy has drawn fierce criticism from some British and U.S. politicians.

Starmer's government recently approved China's contested plans to build a mega-embassy in the heart of London, rejecting objections from some politicians who said the new building would make it easier for China to conduct spying operations.

Some UK and Chinese officials had told Reuters that the visit to China was conditional on the embassy being approved 

China was Britain's fourth-largest trading partner with trade totalling around 100 billion pounds in the 12 months to the end of the second quarter in 2025, according to government data.

Among those travelling with Starmer to China as part of the business delegation will be Brendan Nelson, the chairman of HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, another source familiar with the plans told Reuters. HSBC declined to comment.

A revamped UK-China CEO Council is also set to be unveiled next week, with representatives from companies including AstraZeneca, HSBC and Jaguar Land Rover expected to participate, Reuters reported this week.    

But the visit comes at a sensitive moment for relations between European leaders and the United States because of Trump's claims that the United States needs to take control of Greenland because China poses a threat in the Arctic.

In a speech at Davos, Trump made clear his disdain for European leaders, their immigration policies, regulations and their unwillingness to give him Greenland, which he insists America must own for its security.

Starmer laid the foundations for his trip last month when he said Britain needed to take a "more sophisticated" approach to its relationship with China, saying bilateral ties had "blown hot and cold" for years.

(Writing by Andrew MacAskill; Additional reporting by Lawrence White; Editing by Toby Chopra)